“He’s always been good at pretending.” Shen Yuanzhou gave a cold scoff, not bothering to hide the mockery in his eyes.
Ning Bingque acted as if he hadn’t heard him at all, raising his hand to wipe away tears that weren’t even there.
“If you keep this up, I’ll pluck out your feathers and use them for roast bird.”
Shen Yuanzhou huffed, his enormous snake form looking somewhat frightening.
Ning Bingque sighed. “I’ll leave, won’t I?” He paused, then continued, “Right now Xie Ji is going to look for God-Slaying Grass. Now is the best chance to get rid of him. Are you sure you won’t consider joining forces with me to eliminate him?”
God-Slaying Grass…
Yan Yu’an couldn’t help frowning slightly. Why did that sound so familiar?
“Him?” Shen Yuanzhou sneered. Of course they knew what God-Slaying Grass was.
God-Slaying Grass was the immortal grass guarded by the snake clan for generations. To this day, the world knew very little about God-Slaying Grass—many even believed it was fictitious.
But only mutants knew that God-Slaying Grass truly existed. However, no one knew where it was, including the snake clan that guarded it.
Seeing Shen Yuanzhou like this, Ning Bingque couldn’t help feeling puzzled. “Aren’t you worried?”
“Worried?” A rare genuine smile appeared on Shen Yuanzhou’s face—though that smile was written all over with the words “Ning Bingque is an idiot.” “Only fools worry.”
“You!” Ning Bingque was furious. He didn’t care whether Yan Yu’an was beside them or not—he suddenly transformed into a huge bird and let out a sharp cry.
Yan Yu’an was briefly startled. He really hadn’t expected that Ning Bingque was actually an eagle.
But that eagle was twice the size of an ordinary eagle, and its feathers gave off an eerie glow in this gloomy cave.
“Ha, are you looking for a fight?” Shen Yuanzhou was thoroughly enraged. His original intent had been to drive Ning Bingque away—he hadn’t wanted to fight him. But in this situation, if he didn’t fight, he wouldn’t be able to face his ancestors.
The giant python shot upright with a whoosh. By Yan Yu’an’s rough estimate, it was actually two meters tall, and the sharp fangs it bared were still dripping with black slime.
Seeing the two of them about to start fighting, Yan Yu’an raised his voice: “Wait!”
The two were slightly taken aback, then turned puzzled gazes on Yan Yu’an.
Yan Yu’an took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “I don’t think now is a good time to fight. Let me ask you—why do you hate him?” As he spoke, Yan Yu’an shifted his gaze to Ning Bingque.
Ning Bingque: ???
Why did he hate him?
Ning Bingque couldn’t say. He didn’t know why he hated Shen Yuanzhou and Xie Ji either.
Yan Yu’an smiled knowingly. “Why do you hate him?” He looked at Shen Yuanzhou, whose eyes were full of wariness, and asked.
“Too stupid.”
Just when Yan Yu’an thought Shen Yuanzhou wouldn’t answer him, Shen Yuanzhou suddenly spoke.
“You!”
Yan Yu’an saw the flames of anger rekindle in Ning Bingque’s eyes, which had just calmed down, and his heart couldn’t help skipping a beat.
“Say a little less.” Yan Yu’an tugged at Shen Yuanzhou’s arm and said. He moved his lips, wanting to say something more, but then he saw the giant python suddenly go stiff, and the words he’d wanted to say were immediately tucked away in his heart.
“Aren’t you going to get lost?” There was clearly a trace of anger in Shen Yuanzhou’s tone.
Something flashed swiftly through Ning Bingque’s eyes, and then he took a step back. He didn’t want to get into a fight with this sinister, underhanded creature.
He seemed to have figured something out. He gave Yan Yu’an a deep look, then without hesitation turned and flew away.
Even after Ning Bingque left, Shen Yuanzhou still didn’t let his guard down. His snake head kept flicking its tongue in the direction Ning Bingque had flown off.
He didn’t know how long it had been—only when he seemed certain Ning Bingque wouldn’t come back did Shen Yuanzhou relax slightly.
The slimy, cold giant python coiled around Yan Yu’an, who was standing to the side—but perhaps it was too heavy, because it pressed down on him until he could barely breathe.
“Hmph.” Shen Yuanzhou gave a soft huff and shifted back into human form.
The pressure on his body abruptly lightened, and Yan Yu’an couldn’t help letting out a breath of relief.
“I…” His red lips parted slightly, wanting to say something, but Shen Yuanzhou cut him off.
“I can’t possibly let you go see Xie Ji.” Shen Yuanzhou sensed his thoughts. “He’s about to die, and besides, you were mine to begin with…” He raised his voice, and a rare trace of other emotion appeared on his usually expressionless face.
Helpless, Yan Yu’an could only stop bringing it up.
Time passed quickly. Yan Yu’an spent all his days in this cave. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of leaving while Shen Yuanzhou was away—but this forest was Shen Yuanzhou’s territory. Where could he even run to?
Apart from the time Ning Bingque had mentioned Xie Ji, Yan Yu’an hadn’t heard Xie Ji’s name in a long time.
And the two words “Xie Ji” were like Shen Yuanzhou’s sore spot. Whenever he sensed Yan Yu’an wanted to say something about him, he would fiercely leave his own scent on Yan Yu’an—and sometimes he’d even bite Yan Yu’an hard.
It scared Yan Yu’an into thinking Shen Yuanzhou was finally going to eat him.
Fortunately, Shen Yuanzhou didn’t seem to have that intention.
Early one morning, Yan Yu’an said to Shen Yuanzhou: “I want to go outside and take a look.”
“No!” The giant python refused him without even thinking.
Yan Yu’an put on an ingratiating smile and took the initiative to lean close to Shen Yuanzhou, speaking softly: “You’re afraid I’ll run into danger, I know.” He smiled and lowered his posture. “But as long as you’re by my side, nothing will happen.”
It was rare to see Yan Yu’an so docile, and for a moment Shen Yuanzhou’s heart wavered.
But he still gave him a deep look and resolutely refused him.
Yan Yu’an: “…”
For a moment Yan Yu’an felt a little gloomy. Seeing him like this, Shen Yuanzhou explained: “This forest is too dangerous. You don’t have the ability to protect yourself.”
“How can I become strong?” His head slowly drooped. During the apocalypse he’d been warned not to go out, and now Shen Yuanzhou was warning him not to go out too.
He wanted to become strong.
Shen Yuanzhou looked silently at this youth who was nearly a head shorter than himself, and couldn’t help pressing his lips together. A trace of complexity flashed swiftly through his eyes. He struggled for a long while before speaking: “You’re a mutant too—it’s just that for some reason your ability hasn’t been activated.”
Shen Yuanzhou of course knew how to activate an ability—it was just that it required finding God-Slaying Grass, same as Xie Ji.
And never mind the many dangers they’d encounter on the way—just the fact that they’d run into that guy Xie Ji on the road made Shen Yuanzhou wild with jealousy.
To be honest, Yan Yu’an didn’t believe he was a mutant. Did he not know his own situation better than anyone?
Judging whether someone was a mutant based on a single mole was way too careless.
Besides, he’d also observed Ning Bingque carefully and hadn’t found a single mole on his face.
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